Richard Armitrage is full of surprises, not least of which that he joined the circus when he was a young boy. In a new interview with Nylon Guys, Armitrage talks about his youth, and adds that while he didn’t run away as originally rumored, he did join the circus. He says, “I did join a circus, but I never ran away. I was 19 and needed an Equity card.”
Richard Armitage with the dwarves of 'The Hobbit'
Armitrage has become a familiar face to the global audience thanks to his strong performance as Thorin Oakenshield in ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’. With two sequels coming out in the next few years, Armitrage is here to stick around. Of his work in ‘The Hobbit’, he says, “If this opportunity had come to me 10 years ago, I would not have survived. I wouldn’t have known what to do with it. Now I feel like I’ve got an opinion to bring to it, my own interpretation of the character and the book, but other things as well, attitudes that I think we can make resonate with a contemporary audience: honor, loyalty, nobility, corruption.”
He also talks about the controversy surrounding the 48 frames per second as opposed to the standard 24, saying, “It looks amazing. I can’t even begin to tell you. It’s going to be a leap forward, and I think that when people get used to it they won’t want to watch a film in any other format. It’s so immersive. People think 3-D is a gimmick—things leap out, swords come flying at you—but it’s not like that at all. It’s just this incredible depth.”
Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield in 'The Hobbit'
Finally, will he ever get used to the paparazzi and cameras following him everywhere? He says, “What’s really weird is when someone comes up and just puts a camera in your face without saying hello. But it’s part of the job. You take it, and you laugh about it; you can’t get too upset.”
Richard Armitage answers questions from fans about 'The Hobbit'
